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But oh yes, it's about time that our venom, rage, disdain and everything else is dumped on that evil institution called Slavery. For no matter how much some may try to soften it or dress it up with stories like Queen Zabette, nothing but nothing can transform slavery into anything that's palatable.
That's why I'll continue to argue that our perspectives of the West must always be premised on how we became who we are. Trump and the Republicans and many other Whites too, are firmly set in their basic understanding and appreciation of us as a people. If not, why during one of his presidential campaigns did Trump ask "where is my African-American?" His toy or what?

There are those who will ask why should one be saddled with a past that has long gone? It's time to move on they will say. But ask the survivors of those who summarily and who with no regard, were murdered by the law enforcers whom the Establishment set up for their protection?
It isn't a wonder why time and time again policemen are found "not guilty" even when indisputable videos show them choking a cigarette vendor while he was screaming "I can't breathe."
"Not guilty" when Trayvon Martin was cut down by some stupid wannabe cop who felt it was his "bounden duty" to question Trayvon's right to be in the neighborhood where his father resided.
"Not guilty" when a black man is shown on video running away from the cops but was still continuously shot to death from behind.
"Not guilty" when for a broken tail-light a man, with his wife and 4-year old child, was killed for supposedly reaching for his duly licensed gun to carry, that he had already informed the cop he had.

In every one of those cases, the cops' singular defense was "I was in fear for my life," which was more than enough for the jury to find them "not guilty." After all weren't they simply executing the duty they were hired to perform?

Verne, like you I get mad like hell when supposedly "educated" black folks refer to me as a "trouble maker who can't let go of the past." It seems that I'm forever committing a mortal sin in being mindful of the indelible influences that are affecting how society perceives people like me.

This morning my daughter told us a story about the podiatry seminar she attended yesterday. Because of the rains perhaps, she was the only female, the only Black and youngest podiatrist present together with 9 white males. That in itself made her a stand out in the crowd.
She was performing an unusual foot surgery on the cadaver that they had to practice on when the group leader asked the rest to stop what they were doing to pay attention to her techniques. Thereupon the sponsor of the event, a leading drug manufacturer, proudly informed the group that the company was footing the bill to open her brand new office on July 8th. The applause she said was deafening.

Now I mention her story not necessarily to boast of her achievements, although my wife and I are extremely proud, but specifically to point out that despite that, in her posts on Facebook she does not hesitate to firmly take her stand about the racism that continues to plague America. Some have already protested that she is going too far like her dad. She and her friends are ardent advocates and promoters of steering Black high-schoolers into professional fields where there is a glaring paucity of Blacks.
In short, she appreciates her achievements, but regards it merely as a stepping stone to widen the arena with Black faces as common as Whites.

Oh yes, we have made progress since those horrible days of overt slavery and Jim Crow, but whether we like it or not, the memories of those times continue to shape and define who others think we are. Like how they used to deride our Gouyave, it's our over-riding duty to help erase it once and for all.